Indicator 6.6.1 – Water-related ecosystems
Target 6.6 seeks to protect and restore ecosystems – this page explains why and how to monitor progress towards the target, and what resources that are available for countries to do so.
Indicator 6.6.1 tracks changes over time in:
- Spatial extent of water-related ecosystems and inland open waters
- Quantity of water in ecosystems
- Quality of water in ecosystems (see indicator 6.3.2)
It is also recommended that countries incorporate a component on ecosystem health in their ecosystem monitoring programme, which is commonly measured through biological indicators. The point of reference for “change over time” is the natural condition, i.e. before large-scale impacts were experienced by the ecosystem.